Lucknow Super Giants present bat signed by all players to UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow SuperGiants co-owner Sanjeev Goenka and mentor Gautam Gambhir with the Honourable UP CM Yogi Adityanath [Image- Twitter]

Former Indian opener and current mentor of the Lucknow SuperGiants, Gautam Gambhir, presented the first bat of the new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath.

The official Twitter handle of the new franchise posted a picture of Sanjeev Goenka and Gambhir presenting the bat to the incumbent chief minister. The caption read:

"The first bat of the #LucknowSuperGiants presented to the Honorable Chief Minister, @myogiadityanath. Grateful to receive his support! 🏏"

Lucknow is one of the two new franchises alongside the Gujarat Titans, who will make their debut in the forthcoming 14th season of the cash-rich league. The franchise will be coached by former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower while Gambhir has been roped in as a mentor.

Lucknow decided to pick stylish opener KL Rahul, Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi as their three marquee players before the mega-auction. Rahul, who led the Punjab Kings in the last two seasons, will captain the new franchise.

Lucknow had a stellar time at the mega-auction held in Bengaluru

The KL Rahul-led franchise has stacked their squad with multi-dimensional players like Deepak Hooda, Jason Holder, and Krunal Pandya, ensuring that they have enough versatility in the batting order.

South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock (6.75 crores) is expected to open the innings alongside Rahul. West Indian opener Kyle Mayers has been picked as a backup.

Manish Pandey was also picked by the franchise at a sum of 4.6 crores. Pandey has been poor in the IPL over the last few seasons and his form will be extremely crucial to Lucknow's fortunes given the fact that he will play the role of an anchor at No. 3.

In the pace bowling department, Lucknow shelled out a whopping 10 crores for Avesh Khan in addition to bolstering their squad with the pace of England's Mark Wood and Sri Lanka's Dushmanta Chameera. Uttar Pradesh seamer Ankit Rajpoot was also picked for 50 lakhs.

The spin-bowling department will be led by Ravi Bishnoi, who is the only leg-spinner in the squad. Shahbaz Ahmed and Krishanappa Gowtham will serve as backups to Krunal.